Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
DETAILED ACTION
Continued Examination Under 37 CFR 1.114
A request for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, including the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e), was filed in this application after final rejection. Since this application is eligible for continued examination under 37 CFR 1.114, and the fee set forth in 37 CFR 1.17(e) has been timely paid, the finality of the previous Office action has been withdrawn pursuant to 37 CFR 1.114. Applicant's submission filed on 12/17/2025 has been entered.
Amendments of Claims 14 and 23 are acknowledged.
It is to be noted that:
If a prior art device, in its normal and usual operation, would necessarily perform the method claimed, then the method claimed will be considered to be anticipated by the prior art device. When the prior art device is the same as a device described in the specification for carrying out the claimed method, it can be assumed the device will perform the claimed process. Thus, the method, as claimed, would necessarily result from the normal operation of the apparatus. See MPEP 2112.02.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 14 to 24, 26 and 27 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Geerke (US 6276512) in view of Haberstump (US 3286881).
Regarding Claims 14, 15 and 23:
Geerke discloses a feeding apparatus of a filling machine for feeding capsules formed by a lid and a body (Column 1, lines 25, 26, capsules 112 and 108), comprising:
at least one feeding conduit for conveying the capsules towards a transfer system of said filling machine in a single row aligned along a feeding direction (Figures 4 and 7, supply conveyor 300, each of the supply paths 130 and respective delivery path 180 will be considered one feeding conduit and delivery conveyor 390 can be considered a transfer system);
a sensor device associated to said feeding conduit and configured to detect a reciprocal position between the lid and the body of each capsule while passing through said feeding conduit, in order to detect whether each capsule has a predefined first orientation between the lid and the body with respect to the feeding direction which is considered correct, or a second orientation, opposite to the first orientation, which is instead considered wrong (Figure 1, detector 70); and
an orientation arrangement located downstream of sensor device with respect to the feeding direction and associated to said feeding conduit (Figures 4A and B, rectifier block 120 will be considered the orientation arrangement); wherein said orientation arrangement is configured:
to rotate by 180 degrees about a rotation axis, substantially orthogonal to said feeding direction, each capsule which has been detected by the sensor device moving oriented according to the wrong second orientation (Figure 4B shows improperly oriented tablet 112 to be rotated 180 degrees by inverting chamber 150), and
to be passed through without rotating by each capsule which have been detected by the sensor device moving oriented according to the correct first orientation (Figure 4A shows properly oriented tablet 108 passing through on first path 160),
so that all the capsules are oriented according to the correct first orientation when they reach the transfer system.
said feeding conduit comprising a first section positioned directly upstream the orientation arrangement and a second section positioned between said orientation arrangement and said transfer system, said first section and second section being arranged vertically aligned (Figures 1, 2A, 4A and 7, supply path 30 feeds capsules to rectifier block 120 at supply path 130 of upper block 135 that will be considered the first section, while delivery path 180 delivers the oriented capsules to delivery conveyor 390 and will be considered the second section), wherein said first section is configured to remain stationary with respect to said second section and to the rotation axis of said orientation arrangement when said sensor device detects a capsule passing through said first section having either the correct first orientation or the wrong second orientation (Figures 4A, 4B, and 7, supply paths 30 and delivery paths 180 are stationary).
Geerke does not disclose that the orientation arrangement comprises a through hole configured to be passed through by the capsules having the correct first orientation and to rotate by 180 degrees to invert the capsules having the wrong second orientation,
if the capsules are being fed from a hopper,
a blocking arrangement positioned immediately after, and downstream of, said orientation arrangement with reference to the feeding direction and insertable in said second section of said feeding conduit in order to block the passage of the capsules to retain a single capsule within said orientation arrangement.
Haberstump teaches an orientation arrangement configured to rotate by 180 degrees about a rotation axis, substantially orthogonal to said feeding direction, cylindrical articles that have been fed from a hopper (Column 2, lines 65 to 67, Hopper 20, cylindrical head 57 including turntable 28, channel 29 and driving mechanism of the turntable will be considered the orientation arrangement) which have been detected as moving oriented on an orientation considered wrong or opposite to the one desired (Column 3, lines 4 to 7); the orientation arrangement comprising a through hole configured to be passed through by the articles having the correct orientation (Figure 2, channel portion 29 of turntable 28) and to rotate by 180 degrees to invert the articles having the wrong second orientation (Figure 2, channel portion 29 of turntable 28, Column 1, lines 44 to 46, If the element is not properly oriented, the turntable will revolve 180*, reversing the article end for end so that it will be in proper oriented position for delivery); a blocking arrangement positioned immediately after, and downstream of, said orientation arrangement with reference to the feeding direction and insertable in said second section of said feeding conduit in order to block the passage of the articles to retain a single article within said orientation arrangement (Figure 2, Finger 34 will be considered the blocking arrangement, Column 3, lines 16-19, The article in the turntable is prevented from moving therefrom by a finger 34 on a plunger 35 which, when extending across the slot 23, accurately locates an article in the slot 29 of the turntable), the orientation arrangement comprises an orientation element, having a substantially cylindrical shape, fit into a feeding conduit and rotatable about the rotation axis (Figures 2 and 4, turntable 28, comprising the channel portion 29, can be considered an orientation element, having a substantially cylindrical shape and is fit on slot 23 that will be considered a feeding conduit); note that the turntable may be rotated in a horizontal or a vertical plane (Column 9, lines 16 and 17).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to incorporate to Geerke the teachings of Haberstump and have the capsules being fed to the supply conveyor 300 from a hopper, replace movable block 146 and lower block 165 for an orientation arrangement to be located between supply path 130 of upper block 135 that was considered the first section, and delivery path 180 that was considered the second section; the orientation arrangement comprising:
a through hole configured to be passed through by the capsules having the correct orientation and to rotate by 180 degrees to invert the capsules having the wrong second orientation,
a blocking arrangement positioned immediately after, and downstream of, said orientation arrangement with reference to the feeding direction and insertable in said second section of said feeding conduit in order to block the passage of the capsules to retain a single capsule within said orientation arrangement and
an orientation element, having a substantially cylindrical shape, fit into a feeding conduit and rotatable about the rotation axis; as a well-known alternative to give the proper orientation to capsules on the feeding apparatus of a filling machine.
Regarding Claims 17 and 19:
As discussed for Claim 14 above, the modified invention of Geerke discloses the invention as claimed, in particular Geerke discloses that the orientation arrangement corrects the orientation of the capsules one capsule at a time.
The modified invention of Geerke does not disclose a stopping arrangement positioned adjacent to, and upstream of, said orientation arrangement with reference to said feeding direction, partially inserted into a lateral opening made on said first section of said feeding conduit, and configured to abut and stop advancement of capsules.
Haberstump teaches using Finger 37 located on slot 27, upstream of the orientation arrangement, on what can be considered a first section of a feeding conduit, at the very entrance of the turntable 28, will be considered a stopping arrangement to open or close the pass of articles to the turntable 28, until the turntable is ready to receive an article (Figure 2, Column 3, lines 10 to 23, third plunger 36 has a finger 37 in position to be advanced into the slot 23 of the track 22 to maintain a single article therein for advancement onto the turntable when the article on the turntable has been moved therefrom).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to incorporate to Geerke the teachings of Haberstump and add a stopping arrangement upstream of the orientation arrangement to open or close the pass of capsules to the orientation arrangement until the orientation arrangement is ready to receive a capsule.
Regarding Claim 18:
The modified invention of Geerke discloses that said sensor device is positioned upstream of said stopping arrangement with reference to said feeding direction (Figure 1, Detector 70 gets information on the capsule on the supply path upstream of the arranging device and the stopping arrangement that is immediately upstream to the arranging device).
Regarding Claim 20:
Geerke discloses that said at least one feeding conduit is a plurality of feeding conduits arranged parallel to each other, each feeding conduit being associated with a respective sensor device and a respective orientation arrangement (Figures 6 and 7 show several feeding conduits arranged parallel to each other, each feeding conduit being associated with a respective sensor device and a respective orientation arrangement).
Regarding Claim 22:
Geerke discloses a control unit connected to said sensor device and to a driving device of said orientation arrangement, said control unit being configured to control said driving device based on signals sent by said sensor device relating to orientation of each capsule (Column 8, lines 63 to 67, The detector is linked by appropriate logic and amplification devices to the directing means for positioning the diverter in either the bypass position or the diverting position in accord with the orientation of the dosage form as determined by the detector).
Regarding Claim 24:
As already discussed for Claim 23, the modified invention of Geerke discloses that the capsules being fed to the supply conveyor 300 from a hopper; Geerke discloses arranging said capsules coming from supply conveyor 300 to in said feeding conduit with a respective longitudinal axis parallel to said feeding direction, said capsules being arranged in said first orientation when their respective bottoms are facing said transfer system and in said second orientation when their respective lids are facing said transfer system (Figure 4A shows a capsule that came from the hopper in the first orientation with the bottom facing the transfer system bellow delivery path 180, and Figure 4B shows a capsule that came from the hopper in the second orientation with the lid facing the transfer system bellow delivery path 180).
Regarding Claim 26:
Geerke discloses that the capsules reach the orientation arrangement by falling down vertically along the first section (Figures 4, 6 and 7, the capsules fall vertically from supply conveyor 300 to individual supply paths 130 towards the orientation arrangement).
Claims 21, 25 and 27 is rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Geerke (US 6276512) in view of in view of Haberstump (US 3286881) as applied to claims 14 and 23 above, and further in view of Ackley (US 5894801).
Regarding Claims 21 and 25:
As discussed for Claims 14 and 23 above, the modified invention of Geerke discloses the invention as claimed.
The modified invention of Geerke does not specifically disclose detecting by the sensor device possible defects of the capsules.
Ackley teaches a systems for sensing and rectifying capsules for subsequent processing including sensors configured to detect the orientation of the capsule but also to detect defects such as irregular shapes or edges (Figures 11 and 12, Sensor 14, Column 5, lines 12 to 20, the sensor 14 is calibrated to sense both the first color or tone 3 and the second color or tone 5 of the pellet shaped articles, to determine orientation, In another embodiment, the sensor is calibrated to sense a shape of the article. For example, if the article is an irregular shape having, for example, irregular edges and/or sides, the sensor may sense one or more of the irregular sized edges and/or sides).
Therefore, it would have been obvious to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains, before the effective filing date of the claimed invention, to incorporate to the modified invention of Geerke the teachings of Ackley and use the optical sensor device to do a complete inspection for the orientation and of defects of the capsule.
Regarding Claim 27:
Geerke discloses that the sensor device is of the optical type (Column 8, lines 50 to 56, dosage forms may be color-coded such that a specific color or the absence of color at one location on the dosage form can be used to determine the orientation of the dosage form. In this case, a color detector such as a color-sensitive photoelectric device can be used to determine the orientation of the dosage forms in the supply path).
Response to Arguments
Applicant’s arguments with respect to the rejection of the claims over Geerke (US 6276512) in view of Fuller (US 4940128) and McKnight (US 4721230) in the last office action have been considered but are moot because the amendment required a new ground of rejection over Geerke (US 6276512) in view of Haberstump (US 3286881) that does not rely on any reference applied in the prior rejection of record for any teaching or matter specifically challenged in the argument.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure. In particular House (US 3447662) Kusatani (EP 0700847) and Dean (US 4619356) teach orientation arrangements that comprise a through hole configured to be passed through by the articles having the correct first orientation and to rotate by 180 to invert the articles having the wrong second orientation, Dean in particular teach a blocking element immediately after the orientation arrangement while Kusatani teach blocking arrangements before and after the orientation arrangement, the Examiner considers it could have been properly used on a rejection in combination with Geerke or other references for a proper rejection of the claims.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to EDUARDO R FERRERO whose telephone number is (571)272-9946. The examiner can normally be reached M-F 9:30-7:00.
Examiner interviews are available via telephone, in-person, and video conferencing using a USPTO supplied web-based collaboration tool. To schedule an interview, applicant is encouraged to use the USPTO Automated Interview Request (AIR) at http://www.uspto.gov/interviewpractice.
If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner’s supervisor, SHELLEY SELF can be reached at 571-272-4524. The fax phone number for the organization where this application or proceeding is assigned is 571-273-8300.
Information regarding the status of published or unpublished applications may be obtained from Patent Center. Unpublished application information in Patent Center is available to registered users. To file and manage patent submissions in Patent Center, visit: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov. Visit https://www.uspto.gov/patents/apply/patent-center for more information about Patent Center and https://www.uspto.gov/patents/docx for information about filing in DOCX format. For additional questions, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free). If you would like assistance from a USPTO Customer Service Representative, call 800-786-9199 (IN USA OR CANADA) or 571-272-1000.
/EDUARDO R FERRERO/Examiner, Art Unit 3731
/ROBERT F LONG/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 3731